Working people should not have to pay extra tax just because they are council tenants. The Tory Government’s new law will force working people who are council tenants to pay a Tenant Tax.

Labour Councillors in London, alongside trade unions representing working people across the capital, call on the Government to abandon the introduction of this Tory Tenant Tax.

Theresa May says she wants to support the ‘barely coping’ and stand up for the working poor. This policy represents a direct attack on just these people. Red Lines is urging the new Prime Minister to rescind this regressive policy, devised under her predecessor, before it is too late.

The Tory Tenant Tax is part of the Housing and Planning Act. It will introduce a new tax for tenants living in council housing who have a combined annual household income of over £40,000 in London. The Tories will force those affected to pay a 15% additional tax on every pound they earn above £40,000.The threshold for household income at £40,000 per year is too low.

It means two people receiving the 'real' London Living Wage would have to pay the Tenant Tax. It will also see a newly qualified teacher and nurse living in a council house in London hit with a charge of around £750 per year. Many households will struggle to meet the new charge.

The Tory Tenant Tax will apply to tenants regardless of their age, the makeup of their household or how long they have lived there. Households that receive benefits (Housing Benefit or Universal Credit) will not have to pay the Tenant Tax.

Councils will have to collect this money, with all proceeds going to the Tory Government who continue to make damaging cuts to our community.

The Tory Tenant Tax will also be a disincentive to work. People will have to consider whether taking on a job or a promotion will be worth it because, if they are pushed over the new income threshold, any benefit could be lost through having to pay the Tory Tenant Tax.

Axe the Tory Tenant Tax Petition

Working people should not have to pay extra tax because they are council tenants.

We object to the Tory Goverment’s new law that will make tenants pay 15% more tax for every £1 they earn over £40,000 per household.

We, the undersigned, call for the Tory Government to stop the Tory Tenant Tax.